Tag Archives: like people

“I wish I had the courage not to fight and doubt everything… I wish, just once, I could say, ‘This. This is good enough. Just because I choose it.”

―

Chuck Palahniuk

===============

So.

Let me very clear upfront … while this piece will be on Russian involvement in the 2016 USA presidential election I am not discussing, nor suggesting, collusion or coordination of efforts between anything I will outline and the Trump campaign.

The analysis of that will be done by greater minds than mine.

This piece is about what Russia did and the effect on the 2016 election. Let’s call this an analysis of the Russian marketing campaign to support Donald J Trump.

I have the fortune to exchange ideas, on occasion, with some highly qualified intelligence experts and foreign policy thought leaders and all of them continuously grapple not with what Russia did but more so with how to talk about it.

Which leads me to the horrible position that I find myself in <and I imagine any professional communications person with any significant experience is in>.

We know that Russia most likely influenced enough voters to have elected Donald J Trump.

There.

I said it.

The one sentence which seems to be on the lips of almost any credible thinking individual but never seems to be spoken.

This has nothing to do whether I believe he is qualified or not … this is just a conclusion that anyone who knows shit about marketing & advertising has arrived at if they look at the campaign. It took me a while to get there because the overarching narrative ‘cover’ for the election is, and always has been, “Russia never changed a vote or made someone do anything.” While I knew marketing people would debate the seeming lack of understanding in the concept of ‘ability to affect behavior’ it was easier to focus on the truth Russia never got into actual voting machines and changed votes.

This means it just took me a lot longer to get to the truth that many of my peers had already arrived at.

…. I did not want to know this ………..

Whew.

Russia changed votes and voting behavior.

What knowledge to have.

What a wretched position to be in … to be a professional communications person and a believer in America democracy … that is the horrible position many of us find ourselves in.

Why?

Well.

The majority of us know, if we view it through a professional lens, that the Russians communications <propaganda> effort most likely put Donald J Trump into the presidency … and we don’t know what to do and say about it.

Why?

Think about the outcome of this presentation. The main one would be that many people would believe Donald J was not a legitimate president or legitimately elected. And that would be … well … horrible. Horrible for the country, horrible for democracy and … well … just horrible.

I could open this presentation by suggesting Clinton campaign ran a slightly less than effective as it could have marketing campaign but I would have to showcase how the Trump campaign, in and of itself, did not do enough to win. I would then have to point out that an overlaid Russian marketing campaign <which diminished Clinton to suppress behavior in her favor> made the difference at the finish line.

And before anyone argues with that premise please remember that with 136 million votes cast, Trump’s victory came down to a razor-thin edge of only 77,744 votes across three states: Pennsylvania (44,292 votes), Wisconsin (22,748 votes), and Michigan (10,704 votes) – all less than .7% difference between the two candidates and, if reversed, Clinton would be our president.

The 2016 election result is really all about the fact that there was just enough movement in just the right places, with just enough increased turnout from just the right groups, to get Trump the electoral votes he needed to win.

Regardless.

Block by block the truth fell into place. But what make this conclusion truly horrible is … well … what do you do with that knowledge?

It does no good to suggest the current president is illegitimate. None. Zero.

Look.

I am not making this up.

While others look at this in some vague “what could they do to make someone vote a certain way” I look at this from a marketing perspective where I have sat in meeting after meeting analyzing marketing campaigns and tactics to watch what levers <tactics & messages>have been pulled to get someone to do something they may not have considered doing before.

The first ‘block’ was, of course, when the US government warned us that 17 intelligence agencies <or 4 with others tentatively agreeing, or whatever number you want depending on your cynicism but suffice it to say the US Intelligence agencies are aligned in some form or fashion> agreed Russia was fucking within our election. They didn’t go into details but rather just said “they, they are doing this” <and did some behind the scenes stuff to deflect some things they did>.

I would also note that this is where “marketing doesn’t affect my behavior’ attitudes started digging in within the general population.

… in addition to phishing and cracking attacks, these hackers are aided by honeypots, a Cold War term of art referring to an espionage operative who sexually seduced or compromised targets. Today’s honeypots may include a component of sexual appeal or attraction, but they just as often appear to be people who share a target’s political views, obscure personal hobbies, or issues related to family history. Through direct messaging or email conversations, honeypots seek to engage the target in conversations seemingly unrelated to national security or political influence.

These honeypots often appear as friends on social media sites, sending direct messages to their targets to lower their defenses through social engineering. After winning trust, honeypots have been observed taking part in a range of behaviors, including sharing content from white and gray active measures websites

Online hecklers, commonly referred to as trolls, energize Russia’s active measures. Ringleader accounts designed to look like real people push organized harassment — including threats of violence — designed to discredit or silence people who wield influence in targeted realms, such as foreign policy or the Syrian civil war. Once the organized hecklers select a target, a variety of volunteers will join in, often out of simple antisocial tendencies. Sometimes, they join in as a result of the target’s gender, religion, or ethnic background, with anti-Semitic and misogynistic trolling particularly prevalent at the moment. Our family members and colleagues have been targeted and trolled in this manner via Facebook and other social media.

Hecklers and honeypots can also overlap.

—————————–

The experts at WarontheRocks know their shit and I stored away their analysis.

The third ‘block’ occurred when a Bernie Sanders social media coordinator published a report of how he watched online trolls aggressively message against Clinton to Sanders supporters:

He <Mattes> put his expertise in unmasking fraudsters to work. At first, he suspected that the sites were created by the old Clinton haters from the ‘90s ― what Hillary Clinton had dubbed “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

But when Mattes started tracking down the sites’ domain registrations, the trail led to Macedonia and Albania. In mid-September, he emailed a few of his private investigator friends with a list of the sites. “Very creepy and i do not think Koch brothers,” he wrote.

Mattes and his friends didn’t know what to make of his findings. He couldn’t get his mind around the possibility that trolls overseas might be trying to sway a bunch of Southern Californians who supported Sanders’ run for president. “I may be a dark cynic and I may have been an investigative reporter for a long time, but this was too dark ― and too unbelievable and most upsetting,” he said. “What was I to do with this?”

By late October, Mattes said he’d traced 40 percent of the domain registrations for the fake news sites he saw popping up on pro-Sanders pages back to Eastern Europe. Others appeared to be based in Panama and the U.S., or were untraceable. He wondered, “Am I the only person that sees all this crap floating through these Bernie pages?”

And the final ‘block’ was an 84 page white paper issued by the cyber security firm, TrendMicro, which outlined how easy it was to implement a ‘fake news’ marketing campaign with costs & efforts taken by Russia to influence people not only in America but globally.

That did it for me.

Let me call my ‘4 blocks’ as the cornerstones of the building of proof. I am a marketing guy and an amateur behavioral studier with decades of experience and I can see a marketing campaign when there is one … and I can see when a good one is being implemented in ‘below-the-line’ tactics pushing & nudging people to do things … and I can see one once I have been presented the cornerstones of proof.

This is that.

And this is a horrible thing to recognize.

Oddly enough … our founding fathers worried about this.

In constructing the Constitution the crafters were cognizant, and worried about, how easily people could be led, and led astray. That is why they constructed a three ‘power’ system <executive, judiciary & representative> to insure a President never had access to too much power.

In some ways they assumed at some point in history American citizens would not choose wisely.

As a marketing guy I can honestly tell you that I have sat in hundreds of conference rooms viewing behavioral data pondering choice after choice people made that were reflections of “not in my best interest” … information that reflected time after time … people do not choose wisely.

While that is marketing stuff we should all remember what James Madison said … “liberties are more frequently lost by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power.” That is what the worst of worst marketing is about … making some people choose less than wisely through a gradual and silent encroachment into someone’s decision making process.

To be clear.

I think Trump is inept, incompetent and unqualified but this is not about that.

This is about how Russia affected enough people’s attitudes to affect their behavior … and many of us quasi-experts, and many real experts, believe Russia conducted a marketing campaign that did just enough to affect people’s voting behavior to effectively put Trump in the oval office.

To be clear.

None of us know what to do with this understanding. This is a horrible position to be in. No one wants to suggest the current president is not legitimate and, yet, the truth is that he most likely gained his position through some shady illegitimate ways.

I just wanted to write you a letter to bring it to your attention, in case you have not noticed; you really are the president … now.

Yes. You did get elected.

Yes. That new office you get your diet coke in is oval because all US Presidents have sat in that oval office.

Yes. That big eagle on your floor rug is not really your style <albeit I believe it does have gold in it> but it is a sign that, yes, you got elected and that emblem is part of the seal of the United State of America.

I have been meaning to write this to you for quite some time, but I felt compelled to write this letter to you today because yesterday, in the wake of the London terrorist attacks, you seemed to forget you were president for a while.

And that seems indicative of, well, all your behavior since last November <with some small moments in which we got tantalizing glimpses you actually recognized that you were now responsible for 330 million people>.

Last night you took the opportunity while watching the attacks unfold to retweet a Drudge article and a personal tweet about your own travel ban. I am tempted to suggest they were simply tweets of an ignorant idiot, full of sound and fury, simplifying nothing … but I will not. I will use the tweets to remind you that you really are now a president and the president of a certain country called “The United State of America.”

A while back I told you how to do your job because you seemed to be struggling and I thought there were some simple things you could do to rectify your current situation. Today I will simply remind you of some things you may not know about your new job:

Tweets

I really wouldn’t mind you tweeting if you didn’t tweet like a bitter husband drunk late at night just after his wife had left him. The problem is that you do … and you are not drunk and for some reason your wife has not left you. I have given up trying to convince you that words matter <even the ones you make up> so maybe we could have you work on thinking a little less like an idiotic bitter drunk husband and maybe have you think about the fact you really are a President who shouldn’t be bitter about anything and whose wife has not left him <yet>.

I do take some solace in the fact that, for the most part, your drunken bitter idiot-in-chief tweets are becoming irrelevant to the outside world. Beyond media … most simply ignore you the best they can. My main proof? You offer some word salad twisted thought and Wall Street barely responds these days.

On that note. I would suggest that being President and being ignored kind of suggests you are becoming irrelevant. That seems bad <sad>.

I would never suggest you stop tweeting. Hell. It is the best entertainment we have had in years. Maybe you could just consider in the future to just be a little less bitter, maybe sound a little less drunk, and maybe a little less “I am unwanted and unworthy of the love that has left me” and more … well … “holy shit, I am the President.”

That’s all I ask. But I am just an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

Infinite resources

I am dependent upon ‘fair & balanced’ FoxNews, NBC, fake news CNN, Drudge, National Review, Reuters, Guardian and even the failing NY Times for my information.

You are not.

………… Trump picking up phone …….

Mr. President you can actually push a little button right there on the phone next to your canopied bed with throw pillows that have those ruffles you like and maroon sateen sheets and you can most likely have the worlds best intelligence community brief you on what may be happening. You even have a Homeland Security department who could most likely tell you if there are any existing threats which you could tweet America about to calm nerves <and I bet they have a button too>.

In addition you have an Environmental Agency who has a multitude of well researched analysis to offer numbers and results from. You have a Labor Department who has an incredible history of measuring the workplace environment which you have access to for numbers and information <those last two are probably not worthy of buttons on your phone … sorry>.

You may not know it but you also have a State Department with real people in real buildings <some people call them embassies> who have real on-the-ground knowledge of where they are that are most likely to be delighted to speak with you 24/7.

I imagine my real point, Mr. President, is … well … you are no longer an everyday schmuck dependent upon whatever information you can scrounge up on your own surfing the world wide web <yes, it is now worldwide> or scanning FoxNews in the morning. You are the President and you have dozens of departments with thousands of extremely qualified people who have reams of knowledge and data and information at their fingertips at the simple push of a button <and they even know more shit before the people on TV do>.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

One dollar bill suggestion

Mr. President, just a suggestion. Tape a dollar bill to your desk <and, under my breath, ‘read it you asshat’>:

E Pluribus Unum.

Out of many, one.

I make this suggestion because I know you love money above everything else and maybe the one dollar bill can help, well, center you a little.

It is a fabulous little document in and of itself … think of it as a PowerPoint slide with few words and a killer image.

I would also note the second Latin motto on that same image … novus ordo seclorum <a new order of the ages> which signifies “the beginning of the new American Era.”

Both of those thoughts may remind you that you represent 330 million or so and, well , a country. It may also help to keep this humble little one dollar nearby as a symbol of small certainty as you, I would imagine, are a little uncertain as you try and make the giant leap from everyday schmuck to President.

Now.

I will admit, Mr. President, while I am sympathetic to your uncertainty I wish you would get a grip on it because it, well, creates a sense of uncertainty in the country.

I would ask you to remember, in general, uncertainty is certainly a bitch to a general population. The larger issue is that uncertainty makes people feel poorer <even when they are not>, more divided <even when they are not>, less safe <even though they are not> and less hopeful with regard to the future <even when they should see signs of hope>.

I would also suggest that, in this time & place, this uncertainty has been compounded by the fact we don’t trust anyone on anything <media included> … don’t trust anyone to do what they are supposed to do <government included> … and don’t even trust what was done when they actually do what they were supposed to do <anyone associated with any institution>. Uhm. I hesitate to tell you this but, whew, a shitload of people don’t really trust you either.

All that said. You know what everyone trusts in this wretched place where no one does anything right and is stupid or dishonest or corrupt? The one dollar bill. It is a simplistic symbol of certainty and trust. It may be that you could use his taped one dollar bill to focus you a little.

Now. You may not know it but there was a guy named Booker Washington who said … ““… be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” <just a note: this guys is dead>. I know that may be a big thought for you so maybe I can dumb it down for you … think of it as if you have 5 one dollar bills, you can also then have a $5 dollar bill. Separate as ones but one as a $5. You see what I mean? Maybe if you look at that one dollar bill every day maybe you can start thinking ‘out of many one’ and be a President for all the $5’s, $20’s & $50’s rather than just a couple of ones.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

Thank you for your time today.

I am sorry I didn’t include bullet points and killer images & graphs <which I hear you like> but maybe Melania can read this to you.

Dear Mr. President, I cannot promise I will leave you alone after this letter. You seem to not only not know how to do your fucking job but you also seem to forget you are not an everyday schmuck <no matter how many of us wished you were>. I promise I will leave you alone when you fully recognize that you are now a big bad powerful man. You now not only lead America but, if you would elect to do so, you could actually lead in the world.

I do worry, on occasion, that your view of leadership and mine do not really coincide. You seem to feel that creating a transactional relationship is the same thing as creating a “leadership” relationship. That kind of feels like the same logic some misguide businesses use to recruit talented young people with cool laptops, flex time, free lunches … and not vision. Frankly, that doesn’t really foster any type of loyalty, it doesn’t really drive any company value and … well … it is killing the idea of leadership by a thousand cuts.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

I also worry that by choosing to remain an everyday schmuck you are finding whatever scraps in what you have done to make yourself believe you are doing good things … and you are holding on to them tightly like your teddy bear at night for comfort <in your canopied bed with sateen sheets>. I can assure you that you will need those scraps for comfort at some point if you don’t realize that is what we everyday schmucks do to comfort ourselves … but presidents kind of need to find more than scraps to hold onto.

But what do I know … I am an everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

And, lastly, dear Mr. President, I worry that many of the world’s leaders are realizing you are just bluster and bullshit. I am fairly sure they weren’t sure in the beginning but now they know. But, Mr. President, I know you are better than that <I say with fingers crossed> and all of a sudden you will realize you are not an everyday schmuck but rather the President.

But what do I know … I am everyday schmuck and you are the President <keep reminding yourself of that>.

I am sending you my letter today hoping that my sincere thoughts help you realize this.

Mr. President, you have probably done over 100 things, okay, thousands of things over the past year or so which make me sure you are unqualified to be the country leader <and make me doubt you could lead a turd out of a flushed toilet>, makes me sure I dislike your business acumen and makes me sure your moral compass <assuming you even have one> is not working.

I would imagine if you remain an everyday schmuck, in your own mind you will, well, feel exactly the same way.

But … you really are the President. You really did get elected. You can start acting like a President any time you want and most of us every day schmucks will line up behind you when you do because, well, you really are the President of the United States.

All the best.

Bruce.

P.S. – Mr. President, as I read some of your tweets this morning, the morning after the London terror attacks, I have to ask you … what is wrong with you?

===================

“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.“

“All the animals, the plants, the minerals, even other kinds of men, are being broken and reassembled every day, to preserve an elite few, who are the loudest to theorize on freedom, but the least free of all.”

―

Thomas Pynchon

===============

Uhm.

“Normalizing your boss.”

I would say 95% of us who have had the opportunity to weave our way through corporate America to reach a senior level position have been forced to normalize the behavior of one of our bosses.

Some more than others … but in some ways you become a normalizer, or a translator or maybe sometimes you simply sweep up the mess they left behind.

That’s just what you do … uhm … assuming that boss actually has some redeeming value. As you get closer and closer to the most senior positions it becomes more and more obvious that gaining responsibility doesn’t always smooth out the edges of someone but rather more often makes that person lean harder on the specific aspects which they can use to meet the growing responsibilities. Yeah. Many leaders don’t “round out their skills & character” <and become a well-rounded leader> but rather hone the pointed skills that provide value <sacrificing some other skills & attributes along the way>.

But then … well … you run up against the ‘bull shitter in chief.’ Maybe they got their position through some family contact. Maybe they were a psychopathic ‘kill or be killed’ employee who successfully killed off any competent competitors for the position or maybe out of sheer organizational incompetence they rose to a position in which they are completely unqualified for.

All they have in their hip pocket is more bullshit.

But they are your boss.

Whew.

Defending selectively incompetent behavior is one thing. Defending ongoing bull shit is another. Why? The former can actually enhance your reputation <and improve your own skills as you provide solutions in real time> while the latter only diminishes your reputation.

Yeah.

I am sure some people will debate what I just wrote but I would suggest they will only end up quibbling over my phrasing and not the truth behind the thought.

Reputation is not a simple concept. Your reputation is made up of a variety of things which means you can fuck up in one place but offering a strength in another situation simply builds your reputation unevenly <which can be managed if you are self-aware>. The problem with normalizing a bull shitter’s incompetent behavior is that you aren’t shoring up selective incompetence/deficiencies you are actually forced to normalize their behavior by offering an alternative truth to whatever bullshit truth they advocated on all fronts – not selective.

I imagine the majority of us have never really faced this either <a> as a full onslaught from an incompetent boss — because most organizations weed out this problem fairly efficiently or <b> for long <most bull shitters get exposed by ambitious less senior competent no-nonsense fairly quickly>.

But, yet, I tend to believe in our nightmare scenarios in our minds we worry about what we would do if faced with an ongoing incompetent bull shitter boss scenario.

Personally <and anyone who knows me will probably nod their head and go ‘yeah’> I wouldn’t be able to do it. I would actually call bullshit <and get fired or ‘eased into a different responsibility’>.

But, even that said, having been in a quasi-position like this you have a tendency to take on each bullshit situation as discrete from another and avoid any real pattern of behavior until forced to actually face a pattern of behavior. That is how we deal with it … and that is also the personal risk we run as we ignore the larger situation rationalizing it in our own minds as ‘discrete scraps of irresponsible incompetent boss behavior.’

Beyond the fact the trip was bookended with a self-proclaimed “big foreign trip” and a self-proclaimed self-reported “home run” in between there were a number of cringe-able moments in which people were demanded to stand up and become responsible for defending or explaining some tone-deaf remark, some historically ignorant comment or some insensitive gaffe that the president did over the entire big adventure.

Was it the bullying body language he demonstrated at the NATO summit, shoving aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro? <a small country that I am fairly sure the president has no clue where it is>

Was it his apparent unawareness of where Israel is located, an ignorance displayed when he informed an audience of Israelis that he’d “just got back from the Middle East”?

Was it his seeming indifference to the difference between “Islamist” and “Islamic” in front of an Islam audience <a mistake he blamed on exhaustion on the 2nd day of a trip … “does he have the stamina?”>

Was it his belief that after stating for months that NATO was obsolete that it was unnecessary to verbally state USA unequivocally stood with its NATO partners?

Was it his constant misstatements with regard to how NATO actually works?

Was it after a less than 30 minute visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, which <or any Holocaust museum> has a nasty habit of bringing people to tears or, at minimum, some deep reflection with regard to humanity and the sometimes startling cruelty humans can inflict upon one another … he left an absurdly out of touch positive note in the memorial’s Book of Remembrance – “It is a great honor to be here with all my friends – so amazing and will never forget!”

Was it his odd alternative universe in which he suggests he has “righted people’s views of where America stands with friends & enemies after a misguided 8 Obama years” where Saudi Arabia is a good friend <let’s avoid they have none of the freedoms America typically support> and where Germany is described as “bad” <albeit only their trade deals … uhm … and their views on immigration … uhm … and their views on globalism>.

Was it his unflinching ability to lie to the face of the world’s newest democratic leader Macron by unequivocally falsely, in a sincere voice, stating “I was for you.”

Or, finally, was it the overarching sadness <to most Americans> in watching the seeming shift to ‘pragmatic relationships policy” <ones in which money exchange defines who we like and who we do not like> in which we find ourselves watching our leaders partying with disciplined non democratic autocrats and constantly showing uneasiness and sincere lack of warmth in interactions with the world’s finest democratic leaders.

Sigh.

Here is what I know <about not only Trump but normalizing a boss’s behavior>.

If I were working for Trump I would find it hard to read any news … but particularly European newspapers … without cringing and certainly being embarrassed.

But if Trump were my boss where I would be most concerned is that he would be using me to lend some legitimacy … because he was seriously lacking in any legitimacy.

And that is where one needs to step back and worry about their reputation.

Because lending credibility for a boss who has selective competency is different than lending credibility for a … well … “bull shitter in chief” boss.

As one article put it well … “seasoned people simply lend an air of occasional competence to an otherwise shambolic White House. By appearing before the cameras, looking serious and speaking rationally, they add a veneer of normality to this administration.”

And maybe that is where this whole thing ends up.

It is not about us, the people and media, accepting Donald J Trump’s behavior or getting numbed into believing it is normal … it will be about experienced competent people deciding how much they want to normalize his behavior. This whole situation is not really about a decision on what is best for America <although they will certainly be forced into thinking about that>, but rather their own reputation.

Good competent people will be standing there knowing they can contribute to <a> doing what is right and <b> herding an incompetent boss … both of which America in a larger context benefits … and, yet, they stand there watching their own reputations slowly slip away … drip by drip … word by word.

Good competent people can normalize selective incompetence but they will struggle to normalize a ‘bull shitter’ whose only competence is ongoing ignorance. At some point people will begin questioning your own competence as you continuously articulate some semblance of nonsensical normalcy and they will definitely start questioning … well … your integrity or character.

And then what do you do? Because, in the end, that is what you are left with – just you & your character.

Why?

Because, frankly, no matter how skilled you are a shitload of people in this world are just as experienced as you are and a lot of people are skilled and competent just like you … therefore you get judged, ultimately, on what you did when faced with a situation — did you speak up?

Did you defend the wrong and indefensible? Did you do what was right?

I am not suggesting this is easy.

In fact … a good bull shitter can offer such an elegant smoke screen it can offer the competent some cover so they can offer up some truth and competence in a way that … well … is true & competent.

However, in the end, the difficulty resides in the smoke itself.

Because at some point every competent person associated with a bull shitter is asked to explain the smoke … and … well … how do I explain the smoke?

You cant. And, worse? You cannot put out the fire.

Good people, no matter how good, will choke on the smoke eventually.

….. choice when working for a bullshitter in chief ……

And, let’s be clear, no one wants to see good people die.

It is painful to watch. It is painful to watch good competent people being broken and reassembled every day, to preserve someone, who are the loudest to theorize on freedom, but the least free of all.”

That is the personal choice one makes when normalizing a boss … how much smoke is there and will I choke from the smoke they make?

I cannot offer a well-defined “here is how you know and what you should do” today because … well … this is a personal choice. But no matter who you are and where you are … watching good competent people standing in the smoke being demanded to define a smoke, not of their own making, is painful. And sad. .

This morning I laughed out loud. With all the discussion about who is going to pay for “the wall” <“who will pay !!??!! … MEXICO!!!!! – says Trump> and claims Mexico will pay for it … the USA is actually now paying Mexico a one-time payment of almost 200 million dollars … uhm … per year because of a trade issue in which the USA purportedly screwed another trade partner.

Hey.

Hold on.

Isn’t it that everyone else is screwing <taking advantage> of America?

Oh.

That must be the alternative universe.

—————-

The U.S. just lost a trade battle with Mexico. It’s the first loss of the Trump era.

Mexico and the U.S. have fought for years over tuna. The U.S. insists that any Mexican tuna sold in the U.S. must be “dolphin safe,” meaning dolphins weren’t killed by tuna fisherman, which was once common. Mexico says its fisherman play by the rules. The U.S. government disagrees.

On Tuesday, the World Trade Organization ruled in Mexico’s favor, allowing it to impose trade sanctions worth $163 million a year against the U.S. The WTO says that’s how much money Mexico has lost from the U.S. unfairly penalizing Mexican tuna.

The timing, however coincidental, is sensitive. President Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

——————

Look.

I will admit.

I believe building a ‘wall’ between Mexico and USA is stupid. To be clear … I am actually taking Donald J Trump at his word and assessing the idea as a “big, beautiful physical wall.”

And you know what? Even though I think the wall is stupid he is president and if he truly believes the wall would be effective in some way … his call.

But the issue is not really whether the wall is simply stupid or not. This is about ROI, budgeting money and business decision making.

We all, as everyday schmucks, make some fairly poor decisions with regard to how we spend our money. Just so everyone knows … that lack of responsible budgeting does not magically disappear when you became a high falutin’ business leader. While I have tried to limit the poor discretionary budget spending … yeah … I have made some less-than-smart expenditures in business <in my defense … I have seen worse decisions>.

But as a business leader you are demanded to look at the money you have available, assess priorities and assign funds.

I say that because even if I stand on my head while looking at USA funding needs and the monies available I cannot envision how I would prioritize a ‘big, beautiful wall’ over … well … a shitload of things.

Every dollar I spend on ‘the big, beautiful wall’ is a dollar I cannot spend on lowering the deficit, maybe some infrastructure, any healthcare initiative, maybe some program for lower income households … you get it.

But it appears in this alternative universe that it seems the entire Trump clan lives in ‘the big , beautiful wall’ is representative of ‘the brand’ or ‘fulfilling a promise’ in which it gains so much value in an ROI analysis it pays out over all the other things it is assessed against.

Frankly, I don’t live in that alternative world.

In my world we have things to do and not enough money to do it all <which is a common issue in every business>, I just paid Mexico almost 200 million dollars <and they will not pay us to build the wall> and I have a so-called experienced business leader president who don’t seem to understand that budgeting is about prioritizing and that means tough choices and that means explaining the tough choices.

In my world, as a business person, I have found that when I stood up in front of people and said “I have said we would do these things, we have $10, this is how I prioritize the $10, this means we cannot do some of the things I said before but hopefully we get to it if we ever get $20” that most people don’t look at you as “not fulfilling a promise” but rather “good business decision maker.”

I suggested this <even though I do not agree with the Wall but tried to offer him a compromise position>:

=======

Immigration part 2: the wall

It is our border. It is our responsibility. We will pay for it.

We will build a physical wall of constructed wall as well as a people wall. We will increase existing fencing, support it with additional physical wall construction in strategic areas and hire an additional 5000 border agents to manage the border wall.

Now.

I will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for several things:

From this day forward the smart illegal immigrants who beat our wall that we catch we will deport. We ask Mexico to reimburse us for legal and transportation costs. Let’s call this our expense report for returning their citizens.

Because we would like to encourage gainful employment of Mexican citizens so that they do not try and illegally immigrate to our great booming economy <which only I can create> we would like to earn an employment incentive assessment on each Mexican employee our USA companies hire at their facilities in Mexico.

==============

Regardless.

Yeah.

I laughed out loud this morning.

I never thought Mexico would ever pay for ‘the wall’ but I truly never thought we would actually pay Mexico AND have to pay for our own stupid wall.

Anyway.

I will end this ironic thought for the day with … well … building & being architects of fate.

That actually means we are on our own. We have no rights, no privileges, no nothing to support or comfort our existence except what we choose to provide each other.

That said.

Let me make sure we are all on the same page with regard to ”rights” … which means you need to ponder rights, freedom, liberty, prerogative and privilege.

All of these are words which refer to the fundamental claims a person can properly make or his unfettered ability to choose <Use The Right Word: S.I. Hayakawa>.

Right suggests a concrete claim established by legal, ethical or religious sanctions <e.g., right to equality before the law>. Although … someone claiming a right tends to argue it is inherent, a person’s rights are differently spelled out in different cultures & countries.

Liberty is a more abstract and general notion suggesting the opportunity to choose among alternatives. A document such as the Bill of Rights spells out these conditions a citizen may construe as his rights. However … these liberties may sometimes in fact refer to an unwarranted breach of someone else’s right to consideration <we do not enjoy unbridled liberty without regard for the rights of others>.

Civil liberty is understood to refer to all the rights enumerated in the US Constitution and its amendments.

Freedom is close to liberty in its abstract generality but stresses a total lack of constraint more than the opportunity for choice.

Prerogative and privilege are much more specific in their meanings than the other words here. Prerogative refers to a right that one has by virtue of age, sex or position.

Privilege suggests advantages given as favors or added luxuries rather than necessary rights.

I share all that to point out that while we may complicate our lives by confusing all these dynamics we also complicate our lives unnecessarily.

Anyway.

We tend to complicate our lives in a number of ways.

Sometimes it is we feel like Life, or the universe, should be a little more helpful.

Sometimes we confuse privileges and rights.

Sometimes we seek an easier path because the way we are going seems a little too hard.

Sometimes we abuse rights in the pursuit of bad things.

Sometimes we assume privileges with regard to desire of good things.

============

“People tend to complicate their lives, as if living weren’t already complicated enough.”

—

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

=============

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

—-

Søren Kierkegaard

===========

Far too often we view freedoms as freedom to be stupid, idiotic or thoughtless.

Specifically, far too often we view freedom of speech as a way to shared well-articulated insightful thoughts to better the world around them imply because … well … we were fortunate enough to be nearby when speech, freely given, was shared.

Well.

Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom to say only smart things. It also means freedom to be stupid, idiotic and thoughtless.

And, yet, as John Stuart Mill argued in “On Liberty,” freedom of expression is the freedom on which all other civic rights are based <someone should remind our President of this>.

Now.

I do believe those who speak have a responsibility to be … well … responsible. Freedom of speech, and expression, is a privilege not to be abused. But that is my opinion.

Just mine.

However … stupidity aside … I would rather someone speak, regardless of what is said opinion wise, than for there to be silence. In a world in which we complicate our lives and confuse liberties and freedoms and privileges … we shouldn’t shut up. And we shouldn’t simply shut off someone because they confuse all these things.

Here is the real truth:

=========

“Idiocy thrives in the dark, not in dialogue.”

—-

Jen Floyd Engel columnist

=====

I have had this debate, sometimes argument, with several people.

I want neo-Nazis peaking on campuses.

I want feminists raging through megaphones on stand at street corners.

I want pro Life & pro Choice advocates debating on stages throughout America.

I want the most extreme of all sides and dimensions and directions to publicly have the opportunity to speak out.

First of all.

We should all want that.

We, here in the USA, actually live in a country where unless you shout “fire” in some movie theater or seriously offer harmful threats you actually have the privilege & right to speak your mind. This is a gift that USA gives its citizens … a gift many of the 192 countries around the world are not so quick to give their citizens.

Second.

We should abhor silence.

It seems to me that we are quickly heading down a path where the only opinions safe to say out loud are the benign most milquetoast ‘safe havens’ of speech … Hitler was bad, genocide is bad, beets are bad <oops, that last one was just a personal benign opinion>.

We say we want honesty.

We say we want to hear the truth.

We say we want free speech.

And yet we are relentless in chastising those who choose to speak … and the words they choose to speak are wrong, maybe even stupid and possibly ignorant.

Uhm. This makes me say …

“I have met the enemy and the enemy is us.”

I do believe we are in the midst of a crisis of truth, ignorance and enlightenment … and freedoms, rights & privileges.

And it is an odd crisis in that we may actually speak up and out … but constantly get trapped in some simplistic dualisms — liberalism versus authoritarianism, Islam versus … well … Christianity/America/constitution/etc., white versus non white, intellectual versus nonintellectual, urban versus rural … and any other dualism thing you want to add.

But our issues seem to be more complex than ‘if this or maybe that.’

Our issues get compounded by the natural ebb & flow of “rights” <speech, religion, press, etc.> and what we believe is … well … right … all combined with the unfortunate situation that the everyday person struggles to discerns fact from fiction <and our current President has created his own fictional alternative universe in which his ‘facts’ exist and he wants to manage the narrative as ‘his universe depicting reality>.

We complicate our lives needlessly.

And while Alexis de Tocqueville suggested in the 1830s that the American promise of meritocracy, its uniformity of culture and manners, and “equality of conditions” would make for immoderate ambition, corrosive envy and chronic dissatisfaction and could swell “to the height of fury” and lead many to acquiesce in a curtailment of their liberties all leading to a longing for the rule of a strongman … I do not agree.

No matter how divisive we may get and no matter how much we complicate our own lives and how much we may confuse what we deserve and what we earn … what is a privilege and what is a right … all of our freedoms & rights are grounded in the one unchangeable thing we have … the constitution.

That said. I am reminded of some words written by William Martin in his fabulous book “The Lost Constitution”:

=======

“A real American will tell you that our Constitution is not a tool for politicians hoping to make points, whether it is a cynical Republican pushing flag burning amendments because their poll numbers are down or a do-gooding Democrat who decides to protect ourselves by banning guns. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they made the Constitution difficult to amend, so let’s think hard before we mess with it.

What it says is what t said two hundred years ago. I think the men who set their thoughts down here were men who cared about America. Some of them believed in a strong central government, some believed that government governs best which governs least, but all of them believed in the ability of thinking Americans to get up in the morning and resolve their differences and solve their problems. And we have lost that in this country.

The framers created a means of changing this document because they understood that the world would change. But they didn’t want to make it easy. So it up to you, the people, pick up your newspaper and read them, and think about what you read, and don’t always believe what you hear just because it is what you want to hear,. And don’t listen to what you want to hear because you hear it from somebody who shouts it loud or makes you laugh. The constitution demands more. Don’t believe the people who vote straight democrat any more than you believe the people who befoul the airwaves with rightist rhetoric every day. The theme, on every night, is that we are all American. “

==========

It is an odd place we are in today.

It seems like never have so many free individuals felt so helpless and in their helpless feeling many people seem almost desperate to wrest control from anyone, and institutions in particular, they can blame for their feeling ‘lostness’ <however you would like to define lost>.

As I finish up this piece today it seems important to remind everyone that freedom of speech is just that … freedom of speech – and that freedom of speech is the foundation upon which all civil liberties reside.

I would rather idiocy, our confusion about what we deserve and do not deserve, be discussed rather than have to thrive in the darkness of silent strength.

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges.

They may be Mohometans, Jews or Christians of any sect, or they may be atheists.”

—–

George Washington

=============

Ok.

I have commented several times on what I would consider a needless “travel ban” but Donald J’s insistence to issue a new improved travel ban under the guise of national security has inspired me to comment one more time.

When the best thing anyone can say about some initiative you are attempting to implement is:

… call new travel ban ‘a good overhaul’ that will ‘stand legal scrutiny’

… well … you are in trouble. I don’t really ever want the main reason to do something to be “it is legal.” I would much prefer my number 1 reason everyone wants to do something be … well … it is a damn good idea.

Look.

I am all for national security.

And I do believe a president has the right to take some extraordinary actions with the best intentions of citizens in mind.

But that is where I hesitate on this … my sense is that this whole travel ban is in the best interest of one citizen … Donald J Trump and his ego.

Since the 80’s death in the US by terrorism is around 3500 plus <including 9/11> in the same time there has been 60.000 work place related death and 900.000 death by gun violence.

Read any report you want and you can find little to point to these countries as ‘terrorist pipelines to America’ as well as anything that would suggest our current vetting process and immigration policy is flawed enough to permit an influx of terrorists.

But I imagine all could be resolved in my mind with answers to two basic questions:

You were urgent in the initial ban with regard to our security and concerns with vetting … what specifically have you done in the past month to shore it up <because I assume it was important enough you didn’t just take your ball home sulking>?

What can you do now, in a pause, which you couldn’t do in the past 4 weeks? <what specific benefit does the ‘pause’ give us>

Answer those well and I will reconsider my view on this and maybe even get off your back.

Here is what I know as a business guy.

Empty promises fulfilled … remain empty.

Most business leaders are very careful with regard to what they promise their employees. And then … even when promising something … they are even more careful about fulfilling any stated promise. The latter is maybe even more important than the former.

Nothing kills a business leader faster than asking employees to do something simply to do something <and it is not a priority need for energy>.

That has always been the flaw in “doing what you said you would do.” if what you say is wrong, stupid, silly or ignorant than doing is simply a reflection of … well … all those things.

In the business world we call that wasted energy or a ‘completed wrong.’

This is when a business leader forces action simply to prove a point.

This is when an organization starts losing respect for a leader.

In today’ business world most businesses run so lean being able to effectively prioritize resources and energy is possibly the most important skill a leader can bring to an organization.

Employees do not suffer fools lightly.

And maybe that is why I will continue to crush Donald J for his lack of leadership skills.

Yes. He made a stupid promise while campaigning.

Yes. He tried to fulfill the stupid promise stupidly a month ago.

But he had an opportunity to right all wrongs in one fell swoop in this place and time … and a good leader would have seen the opportunity.

All he had to do was stand up in front of a microphone and a gazillion cameras <and hopefully a teleprompter> and said …

“I continue to believe the original ban was the best thing for America but I honored the decision made by our judiciary system and honored the ‘ban pause’ … but I, and we, did not pause in our efforts to keep people safe & secure … over the past week the following departments <name them> have done these things <list them> and have already begun implementing my <incredibly stupidly called> extreme vetting process. While it would have been easier for the people protecting you to have done this during a pause they never wavered in their determined effort to close the holes in the vetting process and I have decided to put the entire travel ban on hold until there may come a time where we identify a need to pause to further improve the process.”

And in one simple long paragraph explanation he has fulfilled his promise and stopped any wasted energy … and even gets some points on leadership.

Did he do this? Are you fucking nuts? I bet this didn’t even cross his mind.

Leaders always have choices when they make a decision.

With regard to this one I sense the main Trumpian business flaw – transactional versus strategic.

My fear is Trump views immigration as a transaction between the ‘incoming’ and the country – “here is what you are buying and if you buy it you have committed to it.” This comes to Life most easily in how he discusses a ‘merit based’ immigration policy but it also hides among words like “people who value our values and think America is great.”

If I view immigration transactionally <unless I view it through a ‘lifetime value lens’> I will inevitably misjudge the value of the transaction.

Immigration is more like a long term contract in which both parties have commitments.

“I am offering you a long term contact in which I will provide you rights, privileges, freedoms and opportunities <that is my promise in this contract> and you will provide a commitment to the Constitution, working hard and embracing the freedoms found with american society <with respect>.”

In a mutually beneficial contract both parties receive value.

In a mutually beneficial contract both parties are equal … one party is not subservient to the other.

Look.

I do believe America is great <for a variety of reasons>. But I have said this before and I will say this again … to make America even greater I shouldn’t be keeping people out I should be strengthening the idea, and values, of America to a point where the right people self select wanting to be part of the idea of America.

And an unintended consequence <actually an intended one> if I approach immigration that way is I also strengthen the idea of America for current Americans which strengthens who we are, what we believe and how we behave.

In the end.

This revised travel ban is stupid.

It has all the signs of the kind of thing a petulant leader does simply to make a point.

And, worse? It diverts energy & resources at a time where we should be assessing energy & resources as ‘most efficient use.’

He is a horrible business leader taking his horrible lack of leadership skills into the presidency.

I am tired of watching incompetent leadership and watch you hide behind tweets instead of taking responsibility for your actions … as well as your thoughts. I am also tired of your lack of leadership and seeming lack of desire to reach out to your ultimate responsibility – 330 million people or so <not just the ones who got up off their happy asses and voted for you>. And I am really tired of seeing you have no fucking idea how to do your job.

So, while I abhor almost every tactic you seem to want to do, let me tell you how to actually do what you want to do <so you can actually do your job>:

Immigration part 1: who we let in to USA.

Let me be clear.

The security of our people is utmost in my mind.

And I reviewed everything knowing that even if we do everything right there is no guarantee we will never have a terrorist succeed on American soil.

Ok.

That said.

My 7 country ban, particularly Iraq where I — as commander in chief — have my soldiers fighting side by side with soldiers who have relatives who would like to come to the USA, was stupid.

So.

Here is what is really going to happen.

There is no 7 country ban. In fact … we will never ban an entire country unless there is a specific threat identified.

Next.

I have reviewed the vetting process with regard to the people who we invite into our country to either work or stay with becoming a citizen in mind. Our vetting process is the toughest in the world. It takes almost 2 years and 7 agencies reviewing to allow someone’s ass into the USA.

It is also different than Europe’s in these ways <list them for people>.

Our comprehensive vetting conducted by the best professionals USA has to offer is the main reason our vetting process has never permitted a terrorist in through our immigration process since 2001.

I was dumb with regard to my recent “no one comes in for 90 days” because our vetting process really is pretty good despite what all those dishonest people in Congress have been fear-mongering telling you.

That doesn’t mean we will not make some minor adjustments to strengthen some of the potential loopholes but we will maintain our vigilant vetting process which Homeland security, the state department and other 5 departments associated with vetting have managed with excellence since 9/11.

However.

We do need to make improvements on our Visa program.

We are making these three changes to our visa program <list them and explain them>.

<I don’t know enough what to tell you to do … have one of your flunkies how misguided you on your current immigration plan figure it out>

Now.

Yes.

I am going to limit the number of refugees and immigrants we permit into the country. By a lot. We will still permit some but not many – for a while. Here is what I want to do … I want to tie how many more people we will allow in to how many current illegal immigrants we deport or permit to stay. As the number of illegal immigrants in the United States declines, the number of immigrants & refugees we allow in increases.

This is not to suggest we will ever have a ‘quota’ … because we will not … however, we need to have a legal citizenry aligned behind the Constitutional values and this is my plan to do that.

Immigration part 2: the wall

It is our border. It is our responsibility. We will pay for it.

We will build a physical wall of constructed wall as well as a people wall. We will increase existing fencing, support it with additional physical wall construction in strategic areas and hire an additional 5000 border agents to manage the border wall.

Now.

I will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for several things:

From this day forward the smart wily illegal immigrants who beat our wall that we catch … we will deport. We ask Mexico to reimburse us for legal and transportation costs. Let’s call this our expense report for returning their citizens.

Because we would like to encourage gainful employment of Mexican citizens so that they do not try and illegally immigrate to our great booming economy <which only I can create> we would like to earn an employment incentive assessment on each Mexican employee our USA companies hire at their facilities in Mexico.

Immigration part 3: undocumented immigrants

We are now offering a one time legal waiver to any immigrant who walks into their local city hall and registers as an immigrant either seeking a short term work visa or a long term path to citizenship. We are simply asking you to declare your intentions and you will not be deported. Once registered you will either receive a work visa with a specific USA legal time frame you can work and responsibilities associated or the plan of action, responsibilities and timeline to gain your citizenship.

Note.

We will offer a onetime legal waiver for all businesses who report the shift of undocumented to newly registered immigrant employees.

In addition.

From this day forward any registered immigrant, not a citizen, receiving anything more than a misdemeanor will be deported. We will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for that.

From this day forward, once the one time legal waiver period is over, any unregistered immigrant will be deported. We will ask Mexico to reimburse USA for that.

Immigration part 4: Dreamers

We will not deport one Dreamer who is either in school or gainfully employed <or about to be employed>.

All of the Dreamers who have contributed to USA and have plans to contribute are already part of the fabric of America and we have no desire tearing you out of it.

America First National Language.

Here is the crazy thing I found out when I took this job … we do not have a national language. I want to change that. If you live in USA you should be able to speak English. Heck. All my wives did that so everyone else should. This doesn’t mean you cannot have a business focused on using another language nor does it not permit you to speak any language you want at any time … we just want everyone to be able to speak to each other in a common language in schools, public events and within any national discourse. We want Americans to speak English <even though I do not do so very well myself>.

America First business strategy

As of June 1, 2017 we will be dropping the corporate tax to x%.

In addition. We will offer a “kicker” tax break of an additional 10% cut for every additional dollar you reinvest in America operations from the profit dollars you just gained from the lower tax rate or additional dollars invested versus year prior.

In addition. We will be assessing an employee tax <based on their salary> on every overseas employee for multinational companies. We will have three levels of taxes <I made that up … but Trump makes up shit too>, based on whether they could be employed in the USA or not, and you can apply for the appropriate tax rate for each employee.

We will be fair but make no mistake … we want every employee who should be working in America … working in America.

America First Regulation strategy

I see now that my whole “eliminate two regulations for each one added” was bullshit.

So.

As of June 1, 2017 we will have eliminated 20% of all existing regulations. That is my goal and I have asked the Cabinet members to approach this objective responsibly but with the intent to <a> decrease the burden on businesses and <b> limit restrictions on growth industries. We will do this responsibly taking into consideration environmental concerns but with the intent to enable American businesses to take a leap forward.

That is my first promise to America.

My second promise is to have my entire Cabinet present a review of all the regulation cuts to Congress and the American people on June 1, 2019. At that time we will reassess regulations and repercussions of any regulation cuts.

Trumpcare:

We are repealing and replacing Obamacare. While the idea is worthy the construct is flawed and I, and only I, can fix this mess.

Okay. I will be honest. It’s really not that bad and there are a bunch of things we want to keep and make work better.

Beginning on January 1, 2018 we will permit health insurance companies to work across state borders to increase local competition and increase plan options for people. We will bla bla bla to make quality healthcare accessible to everyone, even people with preexisting conditions, seniors and low income people. We will also deregulate the ‘telehealth’ industry and permit small health accounts for younger healthy people from which the government will only assess fees when used.

Economy.

Of all the things I have discussed so far … the best thing for American security, the number one weapon against terrorism and the best gift we can give every American household is a better economy. When people have opportunities for better income, better lives and better opportunities people are happier, healthier … and safer because less people are unhappy. Just tell the Democrats to approve my lack-of any-moral compass billionaire economic Cabinet members so I can make America’s economy great again because I need them to make it all happen <and I will be seen as the great President I know that I am>.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Trump

===============

Please note, President Trump, I do not agree with everything here nor am I smart enough to have thought through all the details, but I was able to think thru this in one afternoon and it looks more sensible then anything you have offered yet.

I would note you have shown no signs that you can coherently articulate a coherent strategy, nor tactics, so I have attempted to do your job for you so that maybe you can get your ass out of the crack you put it in.

As for being a man?

First. Try using some of these words … they reflect some harsh truths which your citizens deserve, and the truth … well … truth trumps fear anytime.

Second. Try sharing these words in something other than a tweet or sending someone else out to communicate it for you. Stand up in front of your people, your citizens, and take some responsibility and be a frickin’ man about all of this <you incompetent hack — said under my breath>.

“Don’t confuse a flurry of activity for progress. That’s a magician’s trick.”

———

One of my past Bosses

============

Well.

With all due respect to anyone who voted for Trump … this is batshit crazy.

A batshit crazy week.

A batshit crazy day.

Batshit crazy for the country as a whole.

And I am beginning to think he is batshit crazy.

With the sheer amount of shit Trump is throwing up against the wall it becomes difficult to see anything but … well … shit.

<This was a nice article, Trump week one, weaving through what Trump did and whether it matters or not>

Now.

If you turn on the television to watch whatever news network trying to be fair and doing so by putting on some Trump surrogate to speak Trumpspeak … you will encounter what I just said to a good friend of mine:

“Watch, they rummage around for scraps of cloth and then hold up the scrap and try to convince you it is part of a beautiful tapestry.

But it is still just a scrap of cloth.”

<Me>

Be careful, my friends, because that is what they are trying to do.

Regardless.

As a business guy I will point out two things to show how batshit crazy this whole situation is:

If he were running a business like this, he would be fired

This is not how businesses are run.

No. He is not running it like a high speed business.

He is running it like a transactional manager with poorly thought out plans who just wants to do shit to show he is doing something … and, on top of that, has no clue how to adapt the shit if it goes to shit.

Faster paced businesses only run faster because they are willing to plan, go & quickly adapt. Faster paced businesses understand the name of the game is “adapt or die” if they want to go with some speed. But, for the most part, they are not making shit up on the fly and the really big shit has been planned for.

Oh.

One other thing about fast paced businesses.

Alignment.

Unity in vision.

Speed, in business, has a lot to do with gravity & mass. If you want your organization to be successful AND move at a good pace you remove barnacles and you make sure everyone on the crew knows where you are going and have talked through the intent before you say “let’s go.”

And you maybe even show everyone, on some map, where you are trying to get to <this helps everyone adapt because you don’t screw them up stopping them from doing something while adapting if you know they have the same end objective everyone else has>.

Ok.

The second.

Our larger batshit crazy concern really has nothing to do with the pace.

Cabal decision making

Yeah.

He is doing it in a cabal fashion. It feels like it is a couple of people who have a very dark vision of who and what America should be, maybe a couple of flunkies who want to suck up to the Trumpster because they want something <this could be Republicans who want sonme things and put up with the other batshit crazy stuff to get it> and the circus ringleader himself — the Trumpster.

Uhm.

How would you feel if you were a senior manager in a company and he pulled shit like this?

How would you feel if you were one of his chosen cabinet members <especially the ones who are not even in place yet>?

He has virtually no cabinet and what he is doing … he isn’t running by what cabinet he does have.

“why does he need me … he seems to want to do it all on his own.”

It appears a small band of slightly off-kilter individuals are making decisions for all of us – Trump supporters and non Trump supporters.

They are not involving even their senior management let alone the congress — who represent, us, the people — and shooting off orders on what should be done <which inevitably, in this universe, is supposed to reflect what we are supposed to think>.

That is a dictator/cabal and not a “business leader.”

Okay.

Let’s be generous and say that this is classic ‘top/down’ management. If it is … well … top/down works if you are leading a cult or you have a one-person company. If you have an organization of any significant size, let’s say … uhm … 330 million or so … you need some buy in at a number of levels and, even better, some of the lower management levels even contribute to the tactics.

That said … if it is ‘top/down’ management it is just incompetent leadership … if it is a cabal … well … it is not a democracy.

This is batshit crazy.

And maybe the last batshit crazy alternative universe aspect.

… the President is deeply committed to the executive order and the public is firmly behind it — urging them not to get distracted by …

Whoa.

What batshit crazy sonovabitch believes this <not the president part … the people part>?

And does this batshit crazy sonovabitch think the people listening to it believe it?

I don’t even have to believe in the effectiveness of polling to know that over 10 million people voted for someone other than our current President.

I can even be skeptical of polling to see the consistently poor directional numbers <always less than 50%> of approval, temperament and ‘how I feel about this new guy in office.’

Sure.

The ‘public’ who voted for the President are firmly behind some of his batshit crazy behavior … okay … some of them are. But I am tempted to ask the bonehead who said this … “uhm … who are the millions protesting? … and didn’t more people actually demonstrate against him than actually wanted to show up to cheer his dark view of the world & America?”

Thanks to Trump … tweeting has become a daily discussion whether you have a twitter account or not. And along those lines there comes a fairly absurd discussion about how tweets define the ‘new world of communication.’

It is almost like no one understands the difference between content creation and amplifying content.

This is going to be hyperbolic generalization … but …Twitter does not exist, or thrive, without existing content created elsewhere.

Tweets amplify views, opinions, attitudes, thoughts and sometimes addendums to existing content. And by content I mean it doesn’t have to be articles or written things … it can be movies, speeches, demonstrating people, etc.

Bottom line … someone has to do something before twitter can play a role.

Let’s call it stimulus response if you want.

I need a stimulus before I can have a twitter response.

But we act like tweets exist in some vacuum or that real words and thoughts can go away because now we have tweets to guide what we should say and think.

This is crazy.

Fucking crazy.

Let me explain a little on this.

Tweeting is a response to content.

Therefore, simplistically, a tweeter is a commenter and not a creator.

Twitter represents a massive commenter section of the world in which most do not engage in a dialogue but rather voice a monologue in response to some content <content being an article, an event, a show, a meeting, etc.>.

From there a triangular relationship is created. Tweet responses to the original tweeter and to the original content.

There is rarely a dialogue, in the traditional sense, just comments thrown back and forth.

And, finally, if the twitter universe expands in commenting enough, a follow-up piece of content is created to complete the communication loop … or diamond shape … in which tweets bounce back and forth between content simply commenting on what someone else has created.

When the twitter universe embraces a topic it feeds upon itself where original content is spun out discussing tweets themselves <basically content on commenting>, content derived from the original content and possibly new original content spawned by where the twitter universe ranges on the topic.

While that is a generalization of Twitter and tweeting I make the point to … well … point out that Trump is a commenter of content and not a creator of content.

Okay.

Let me resay that … TODAY he is solely a commenter but in a couple of weeks when will own a shitload of content.

<I make that point so when some banal comment is made on TV about how ‘Twitter will be the new way to do things’ we may want to remind ourselves that this is older people talking to older people about how to communicate with older people>

Anyway.

So, for today, Trump is a vapid thinker who expresses his views on other people’s real thinking in 140 characters or less <Bad!>. In the twitter world he is a vapid ‘loud mouth‘.

Vapid is the key word here. Not just for Trump but for tweets in general.

We should more often than not think of tweets as ‘full words’ but rather ‘empty words’ … and not get confused.

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emp·ty word

noun

plural noun: empty words

a word that has only a grammatical function, and no meaning in itself (for example, the infinitive marker to in English).

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To normalize a tweet as ‘full words’ does words, and thinking, a massive injustice.

Shit.

To normalize tweets as real communication does communication injustice.

A successful economic development strategy must focus on improving the skills of the area’s workforce, reducing the cost of doing business and making available the resources business needs to compete and thrive in today’s global economy.

—

Rod Blagojevich

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Well.

What I am about to share is speculative. It is anyone’s guess what Trump is actually thinking.

I rarely have anything positive to say about Trump so this one may be a pleasant surprise to Mr. President Elect.

While he is a narcissistic thin skinned, morally bankrupt, hollow, immature asshat … he may actually be trying to do something which I am not sure had been possible … up until now <and I am intrigued>.

I actually think he may believe he can create a new American economy construct … and I mean the entire architecture, not just infrastructure or energy or … well … any one sector, the whole kitandkaboodle.

Now.

To think this I had to tune out the politicians <who get caught up in the individual decisions he is making and going ballistic over specific individuals> … and I had to tune out the media <who get caught up in the individual decisions he is making and going ballistic over specific individuals> because they may most certainly be missing the larger view <and possible intent> and what the entire team may make possible.

This meant I had to tune out crap like ‘friend of Russia’ or ‘climate denier’ or … well … pick your poison.

Yeah, sure, while I could absolutely skewer the majority of his cabinet decisions … and while it is easy to judge each on social <or lack of social > merits … and while it is difficult to find a single moral compass in any of these merry band of immoral brothers … it certainly appears he is shaping up a team capable of building a new ‘tanker.’

Yeah.

Like a whole brand new tanker … launch it … and scuttle the existing one.

What do I mean?

The USA economy is like a huge tanker. A tanker built maybe 100 years ago. It still runs fine.

Sometimes needs a tune up, it has a shitload of barnacles <in the form of rules and regulations that have been attached over time> and over time we have bolted on, and welded on in some weird places, some new shit as technology & manufacturing & greed abuse have dictated.

This means our tanker is not as efficient as it was when it was first launched.

In addition … politicians being politicians … they have never taken anything off the tanker only added to it and added to the regulations on how it can be navigated <which has only made it heavier and less agile>.

This means today’s economy is good, not great, and not really built for 2030 success.

When I look at the potential Trump cabinet I see … well … a new tanker <a new economy built for 2030 success and beyond>.

When I look at the potential Trump cabinet I see … well … things that a traditional political/diplomacy driven cohort couldn’t do <although, yes, it comes with an expense>

When I look at the potential Trump cabinet I see … well … it looks like he has the ego and the balls to actually try and change the whole architecture of the economy <destroy and create in other words>. He has business men who don’t really care about the existing rules or care about what is being done … they make deals and they create economic infrastructure so an economy can work within the infrastructure. They see an old tanker and seek to design a new tanker … from scratch.

This was a mindboggling thought when I first thought it. <and it hit me when he announced his new secretary of state nominee>.

I may have actually underestimated his ballsiness.

Tune out the traditional political talking points. Tune out the <real> conflict concerns. Tune out the pessimism and concerns.

Tune in to the fact he has created a team that appears capable of building a new tanker. I sat back and scratched my head and said … “well, I could call this building an economy with a ‘zero-based economy’ attitude <build from scratch rather than renovate existing>.

I could be wrong <and have been before with this asshat> but it appears like he wants to sit down and say ‘screw all regulations, screw all the plans, screw all trade deals, and screw all diplomatic relationships’ … let’s construct the American economy of the future from scratch. And then go out and transactionally build it domestically and internationally.

Imagine if Trump administration wants to recreate the oil supply construct of the ENTIRE world diminishing Middle East role … uhm … he would make USA and Russia the foundation for global oil supply thereby making Middle East almost irrelevant. Putin would love this economically and we would cut ties with frenemies in Middle East. This, alone, reshapes the entire world economy and country’s roles in terms of relevance … well … how’s THAT for a gangbuster idea?>

His ambassador to China nominee is an economic relationship based person.

In addition.

He has old white, lack of moral compass men in positions to change commerce, labor, healthcare, taxation and finance.

And an old white irascible man to adapt laws & regulations to accommodate a new economy.

Here is maybe the strangest thing.

You know what sealed the theory for me?

The seeming moral bankruptcy and lack of moral compass within the business nominees <even when combining all the old asshats>.

Yeah.

They are business assassins. They ignore all the non-business noise and make business deals and get business shit done. up to this point they have done it in a self interest way and now they are being pointed toward America self interest.

As I stated in an earlier piece .. while I could never see having Trump as a leader and working for him … this is almost exactly how I would use him if he were working FOR me.

Ok.

To address the ‘moral’ elephant in the room.

Someone near and dear to my heart passionately, and with a lot of angst, vocalized concerns about living wages, healthcare for those who couldn’t afford it, ‘the needs of the everyday working person’, greed, inequality <or top 1% only ones who benefit> and … well … morality in general.

All of these things are viable concerns.

And I may even heighten concerns a little more <although I will address them later in his piece> when I suggest this is how we may know if I am right or not on this theory.

If I were Trump and I was truly focused on creating a new economy tanker I would look around at all my Republican ‘privatize everything’ frenemies and non economy departments and say “do what you want … BUT … I do not want to get one call or have to answer one question about why someone lost their healthcare or why some school thing is stupid or why some family got split up or … well … just make sure no one gets screwed from what they have today, will ya?”<or you are fired>.

To do what I am suggesting takes focus and not care about ‘people issues’ in the construct. I know. that sounds cold. And it sounds fraught with peril. But what I would suggest to everyone is that if they build a sleeker more robust tanker … I can always come back and figure out how to make sure everyone, and the right people, benefit from the new tanker. And, frankly, that may not be this merry band of morally corrupt greedy motherfuckers job.

Yeah.

Let me share the possible downsides <the risks>.

Destroying construct makes it a free for all <for awhile>.

To do something like this, destroy to create, this translates into purposely dismantling existing barriers that protect America’s interest. This throws the world into a cage match or a demolition derby.

And not just an economic demolition derby but a ‘role in the world’ demolition derby.

Trump is a doer and transactional. I worry that while he and his team seek out individual cars in this global demolition derby someone else is viewing the entire arena and … well … seeks to own the derby itself <think China>.

That is always the danger of approaching things transactionally. Each transaction, in and of itself, appears great but put together shows missed opportunities.

Here is what we have going for us in this demolition derby … our guys are ruthless drivers.

Lack of diplomacy.

Okay. Maybe there is some diplomacy but let’s call t economic diplomacy.

Global diplomatic relationships have traditionally been on a three legged stool … military/security, economic & cultural/country self interest <or maybe, on that last one, governing uniquenesses … respect for their governing ideology>.

In general all three legs are even when balancing a relationship with an individual country. Trump appears to actually be stacking them. Economic supported by military <protect economics> and … well … screw cultural desires.

In my professional world this is like commoditizing the world through economics. Strip away the brands and branding and make everything strictly functional. .

Sticking with what I know best … this is like hammering away in a marketplace based on functional is the basis for any value proposition. And I cannot tell you how many times I have steered businesses toward this rather than some glitzy empty brand crap. But. There has to be balance. It’s kind of like a football team who decides to run the ball every play of the game and bludgeon the competition to death through sheer focus and aggressiveness. It is hard to argue with as long as you win and it is your strength. But … well … in the longer term … you are gonna get beat being one dimensional. I worry that focusing on economics leaves a huge opening for others who want to use true diplomacy.

Here is what we have going for us in this ‘playing nice doesn’t matter’ style … our guys know how to build mutually beneficial economic deals <and money, which translates into security & stability, can pay for a lot of mean lack of diplomatic skills>.

Anything beyond the almighty dollar.

Yeah. This one is a little concerning.

But.

Climate change, inequality, living wages, social issues <anything that could be construed as ‘politically correct issue’> … someone else is gonna have to ride herd on these. This administration will let others worry about that and focus on economy construct.

Here is what we have going for us … politicians never miss an opportunity to try and score ‘I am thinking about you’ points. they will rush to bolt on crap and, on the good side, create some navigational regulations not to slow the tanker down but keep it in a ‘fair, beneficial’ sea lane.

Politics & politicians.

This is the biggest stumbling block to my theory <and Trump’s success>.

This theory of mine only works if politicians get out of the way. If they focus on tactics and individuals and scoring political points they miss the entire picture view … and miss the bigger opportunity.

Government institutions & establishment might prove too resistant to change. I hear some Republicans getting queasy because they have to explain to their constituents some crap they may not completely understand. I hear some democrats getting queasy because … well … frankly … they don’t understand business <oh, I guess I just said the same thing about republicans and democrats>.

Suffice it to say that disrupting the entire economy and global spider web of business concerns a lot of people. What they are doing is not disruption <a term that is being bastardized in this discussion> … they are destroying to create … and that will create disrupt a lot of conventional and existing aspects of what exists today.

Politicians balk at big transformational change … because most real change has negative short term consequences <although, in this case, I could easily see how they could create some short term wins even while destroying the architecture>.

I get concerned that politicians will try to piece meal what actually needs to be complete transformation and focus on individual pieces & parts rather than the whole.

Here is what we have going for us … business people … good ones that is … know how to articulate transformational change well. In addition … if your entire team buys into the transformation you can force it out of sheer will of the team <hence … the politicians need to permit the team and not pick it apart>.

America.

Well.

‘In for a penny, in for a pound.’

To do this you gotta go for it and not in half steps or with hesitation. Once you shake the etch-a -ketch you gotta immediately draw the new image.

And even then this is high risk high return.

There is a huge downside because you are fucking with America.

This is playing with America’s role in the world as well as the lives of 330 million people.

That’s the downside if you get it wrong.

Here is what we have going for us… ego, narcissism, lack of moral compass and balls. Trump and his merry band do not blink. And by that I mean, in business, when you decide to embrace change the difference between those who succeed and those who fail is ‘blinking.’

Those who blink, who hesitate, fail.

Those who don’t blink, succeed.

Look.

If I am right, it would be difficult to not to feel uncomfortable with these circumstances.

We have the least experienced, least knowledgeable, least factual, least curious presidential candidate in American history preparing to assume responsibility for the country. I find the fact that Trump has no idea what he’s doing truly alarming and concerning and even more concerning is his lack of interest and curiosity with regard to learning what it takes to actually run a country <versus a business> .

But.

He has gathered business people who don’t know shit about politics and government <except how it relates to business> and know a shitload about key business relationships domestically and internationally.